The Tapes: Feb. 24

Time for the latest edition of The Tapes. I’m making last-minute preparations for my trip to Cape Town. But nothing – nothing – comes before TVFury. Onward:

* Ricky Rubio had a horrific game on Wednesday against the Jazz. The Wolves made their comeback with him on the bench and he hit only 1 of 6 from the line. I don’t care. He’s still awesome to watch, is a huge reason for the complete turnaround of a woeful franchise and has them in position for a playoff run. Also, he did this dance last night.

* This quarterback from the Broncos received a bit of attention this season and GQ writer Michael Silver did an oral history of this QB’s season. This is the piece famous for Brady Quinn’s supposedly insulting quotes about this particular overshadowed quarterback.

* Big week for TV’s employer as it began implementing a paywall on its Web site. It’s part of a company-wide move by Gannett. All of its American papers other than USA Today will go to a similar model in 2012.
Time will tell how this will work out, although I think even the tightest of wads can agree that it was an inevitability. Giving away your product isn’t a sound, long-term business model. What’s been most interesting in the short term are all the logistical questions from readers. Hopefully, that means they’re still interested.

* Apparently, there’s a new form of caffeine hitting the market … the breathable kind. That’s right, no need to sip or chug, anymore, the latest trend in energy ingestion is, well, huffing. To be honest, I’d probably prefer a pure, concentrated liquid form. The idea of purposely breathing in a chemical makes me think two things: 1) a gangly 10-year-old boy clinging to an inhaler during gym class and 2) this dude in Fargo who was notorious for sniffing silver paint in a downtown park.
As much as I’m dependent on caffeine, I think I’ll pass on this method if only makes the habit seem more detrimental.